This week, we pause our winter-long recap of the Inferno (read along!) to quiz you on all that we’ve learned thus far. This is an open-book exam; all grades are final. Good luck!

Part I: Multiple Choice

1. Dante is(a) The poet’s first name(b) The poet’s last name(c) The poet’s performance alias, à la Madonna or Ginuwine(d) The owner of the peak in the 1997 Pierce Brosnan vehicle, Dante’s Peak

2. In canto 1, Dante encounters a Lonza, a beast best described as(a) A leopard-lion hybrid(b) Probably completely made up(c) An allegorical stand-in for Dante’s enemies in the City of Florence(d) All of the above

3. In canto 5, Francesca tells Dante that she was unfaithful to her husband after reading a love story. What story was it?(a) The story of Dido and Aeneas(b) The story of Lancelot(c) ArsErotica,Ovid’s bodice ripper(d) Irrelevant. The story she was reading was merely a vehicle for the affair, not the cause of it

4. A Dantista is(a) The Italian word for dentist(b) A Dante scholar(c) A female Dante scholar with attitude(d) A superlative used to describe Dante’s best workRead More »